Iona College Men's Basketball MAAC Regular
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2008 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship Times Union Center (14,750) - Albany, NY - March 7-10 General Information Location............................................................New Rochelle, NY 10801-1890 Founded ....................................................................................................... 1940 Iona College Enrollment ................................................................................................... 2,980 Nickname ..................................................................................................Gaels Men’s Basketball Colors ........................................................................................Maroon & Gold Affi liation ................................................................................... NCAA Division I Conference .............................Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) MAAC Regular Season Home Court (Capacity) .................................Hynes Athletics Center (2,611) Champions President ............................................................Br. James A. Liguori (Iona ’65) 1982-83, 1984-85, 1995-96, Athletics Director ..............................Patrick Lyons (Iona '96, '99 MS '04 MBA) 1996-97, 1997-98, 2000-01 Sr. Associate AD/SWA/Compliance ........................................ Jamie Fogarty Associate AD/Internal Affairs .................................................... Matt Glovaski Associate AD/External Affairs................................................Corey Aronstam MAAC Tournament Assistant AD/Operations ............................................................ Tyler Cardinal Champions Asssistant AD/Compliance .........................................................Aimee Aluzzo Strength and Conditioning Coach ..............................................................TBA 1982, 1984, 1985, Head Athletic Trainer ....................................................................Sam DeRosa 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006 Trainer Emeritus..................................................................................J.B. Buono Team Physician .......................................................................Dr. Riley Williams Assistant to the Athletic Director ...................................... William Montanaro Iona Administrators can be Athletics Phone ........................................................................... (914) 633-2654 reached at the Hampton Inn Downtown Albany Basketball Information 25 Chapel Street Head Coach .......................................................Kevin Willard (Pittsburgh ‘97) Record at Iona/Seasons ................................................12-19 (.387)/First Year Albany, NY 12210 Career Record/Seasons ........................................................................... Same (518) 432-17000 Basketball Offi ce Phone ............................................................ (914) 633-2304 Assistant Coaches ................................... Shaheen Holloway (Seton Hall ‘00) ..............................................................................Dan McHale (Kentucky ‘01) .............................................................................................Vin Parise (Iona ‘00) 2007-08 Record ..........................................................................................12-19 2007-08 Conference Record/Finish ....................................................8-10/7th NCAA Appearances Eight (1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006) NIT Appearances ............................................... Four (1982, 1983, 1996, 1997) Athletic Communications Associate AD/Athletic Communications/ Men’s Basketball Contact ............................................ Brian Beyrer (Iona '01) Offi ce Phone/Cell Phone ................................(914) 633-2334/(914) 497-3136 E-Mail/Treo .......................................................................... [email protected] Sports Information Fax ............................................................... (914) 633-2072 Iona Web Page .................................................................. www.ICGaels.com 2007-08 Iona College Men’s Basketball Game Notes 2007-08 MAAC Championship - March 7-10, 2008 - Page 2 Head Coach Kevin WILLARD Iona College Director of Athletics Patrick Lyons announced the appointment of Kevin Willard as the 11th men’s basketball head coach on Apr. 10, 2007 as a part of an offi cial press announcement in the Hynes Athletics Center. Willard comes back to the tri-state area after serving the last six seasons as an assistant and associate head coach at the University of Louisville. “This is a great day for Iona basketball,” said Lyons. “Kevin represents all the qualities we’re looking for in a basketball coach. His work-ethic, integrity, knowledge of the game and experience as an assistant is second-to-none. We’re extremely excited to have Kevin on board and what the future holds of Iona basketball program.” Mentored by college coaching legend Rick Pitino at Louisville, Willard is the latest former Pitino assistant to join the head coaching ranks; a list that includes several current NCAA head coaches. Cincinnati’s Mick Cronin, Florida’s Billy Donovan, Arizona State’s Herb Sendek, Minnesota’s Tubby Smith, New Mexico State’s Reggie Theus, and his father, Ralph Willard at Holy Cross are among the many successful members of the Pitino coaching tree. THE WILLARD FILE “There are not to many times you get say that your dreams have come true, but this has Year at Iona: First Season truly been a dream of mine since I’ve been following my father around St. Dominic’s High Birth Date: April 6, 1975 School in Long Island as a little kid,” said Willard. “This is truly an honor, not only because I’m Age: 32 becoming a head basketball coach but I’m becoming a head coach at a college with such Hometown: Northport, N.Y. great tradition and history. To follow the footsteps of Coach Valvano and Coach Welsh at Wife: Julie such a great institution is a complete honor and a dream.” Children: Colin (1) In addition to Pitino, Willard credits his father Ralph as one of his coaching infl uences. He High School: Bowling Green HS, will look to continue the up-tempo style, pressure defense, and strong work ethic that helped Louisville’s return to national prominence over the last six seasons. Bowling Green, Ky. “The three-pointer is one of the most important aspects of the college game,” said Willard. College: BA, Univ. of Pittsburgh, 1997 “Scoring from and defending the perimeter will be one of the keys to this ‘fun’ style of basketball. Fun for the players and fun for the fans.” ATHLETIC PLAYING BACKGROUND At Louisville, Willard was responsible for assisting Louisville’s game preparations, scouting Bowling Green High School and preparing game plans to aid the Cardinals in the attack of their opposition. He also Bowling Green, Ky. served as chief recruiting coordinator. Western Kentucky University During his tenure, Louisville was ranked in the top 25 rankings for the past fi ve seasons and Bowling Green, Ky. reached the post season in each of his six years. The squad reached the NCAA Tournament University of Pittsburgh appearances on four occasions including a visit to the 2005 Final Four. The fi rst time in 19 years Pittsburgh, PA that the Cardinals had advanced that deep into the post season. In six seasons at Louisville, the Cardinals posted a phenomenal 142-58 record averaging nearly 24 wins per season. In the historic 2004-05 campaign, Louisville fi nished as the No. 3 team in the nation in the BASKETBALL COACHING EXPERIENCE fi nal 2004-05 ESPN/USA Today poll while posting a stellar 33-5 record. The win total matched 1997-2001 the most victories in U of L history. The Cardinals also earned their fi rst-ever Conference Coaching Associate USA regular season title and also claimed the league tournament championship. Louisville Boston Celtics reached its fi rst NCAA Sweet 16 since 1997 as the No. 4 seed in the Albuquerque Regional National Basketball Association before advancing to its fi rst NCAA Final Four since 1986. 2001-2005 When Pitino took a short medical leave in 2004, Willard guided the Cardinals to a 64-48 Assistant Coach victory over Houston in Freedom Hall for the one game during Pitino’s absence. University of Louisville Prior to Louisville, Willard worked with Pitino as a coaching associate with the Boston Celtics for four years. His duties with the Celtics included game and practice preparation, scouting 2005-2007 and assisting the coaching staff in all basketball matters. He provided advance scouting, Associate Head Coach video tape breakdowns and assisted with individual workouts prior to games. University of Louisville Willard, 32, was a collegiate basketball point guard, playing his last three years at Pittsburgh. He earned BIG EAST All-Academic honors while appearing in 75 games for the Panthers. He played his freshman season at Western Kentucky, where he played in the Hilltoppers’ backcourt and sank over 40 COACHING RECORD percent of his three-point goals. Year School Position W-L Postseason Willard hails from New York, but played his high school 2001-02 Louisville Asst. Coach 19-13 NIT basketball at Bowling Green High School (Ky.) while his father 2002-03 Louisville Asst. Coach 25-7 NCAA was the head coach at Western Kentucky. He earned Second Team All-State honors as a senior and helped his team to a 2003-04 Louisville Asst. Coach 20-10 NCAA combined 76-15 record in his fi nal three prep seasons. 2004-05 Louisville Asst.